For over three months, a gang of six to eight members planned one of the biggest daylight robberies, reconnoitred the spot for 15 days and during the operation avoided mobile phone use and communicated in multiple languages to mask their identities.
However, within three days and before the cash disappeared through various channels, Bengaluru police cracked the case and nabbed three persons from Karnataka, including a police constable, allegedly involved in the audacious robbery and recovered Rs 5.76 crore of Rs 7.11 crore stolen on November 19 from an ATM cash carrying vehicle, said Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh Saturday.
Later in the day, Lokesh B Jagalasar, DCP (south), said that three more persons have been detained in Hyderabad and a bag with Rs 53 lakh in cash has been seized, taking the total amount confiscated to over Rs 6 crore.
Police have also seized a vehicle used in the robbery.
The Bengaluru police on Saturday announced the arrests of a police constable and two others, and recovered Rs 5.76 crore in connection with the biggest broad-day heist where Rs 7.11 crore was robbed from an ATM cash-carrying vehicle on November 19. pic.twitter.com/OVeC8oOa3I
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) November 22, 2025
The arrested have been identified as Annappa Naik, a police constable with Govindapura police station in Bengaluru east, Xavier, a former employee of CMS Info Systems, and Gopi Prasad, an employee of CMS Info Systems.
According to an officer, Gopi has emerged as an instrumental figure in the scheme since he controlled and decided the route of the CMS-operated cash van. “With him on board, it became easier for the gang. The precise knowledge of CCTV blind spots indicates extensive recce and planning,” the officer added.
Xavier was involved in a similar offence in KG Halli police limits and was sent to jail. A year ago, he met with an accident. An officer said that Naik trained the gang on how to execute the heist without leaving any trail.
The team that cracked the case comprised two Assistant Commissioners of Police from the South Division, 11 inspectors, six inspectors from the Crime Branch (CCB)—all supervised by senior officers. Officers went to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and even Goa, chasing leads and eventually questioning over 30 people.
Gang members posing as RBI and IT officials intercepted the cash van near Ashoka Pillar, whipped out guns, seized the cash boxes and abandoned the van by 1.16 pm on Dairy Circle flyover.
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Singh said there was a delay in reporting the crime by the staff of CMS. The incident took place around 12:48 pm near the Ashoka Pillar-Jayanagar-Dairy Circle stretch, though it was initially reported at 1.20 pm. A case of dacoity using firearms was registered at Siddapura Police Station.
The commissioner said that robbers made multiple calculated stops where there is no CCTV coverage and during the entire operation did not use mobile phones, eliminating the possibility of electronic tracking. The gang members deliberately communicated in multiple languages to prevent giving out clues about their identities.
Also, multiple vehicles were used and the number plates were changed frequently, impeding tracking them, Singh said, adding that compounding difficulties for the sleuths, the stolen currency notes had not been serialized by the issuing bank, making it almost impossible to track those through banking channels.
Every gang member, investigators said, was assigned a role from planning, execution phase, to movement of the stolen cash.
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The commissioner also pointed to lapses on the part of the CMS, who he said, flouted RBI guidelines since the GPS location equipment was not functioning. “According to the RBI, the route of the cash van must be changed often so that it should not become predictable. But with an insider helping the gang, it became easier,” he added.
